ST. LOUIS — While he's hardly been the only Braves hitter to struggle lately, and his struggles are relatively mild compared to a few others in the Braves lineup, Freddie Freeman is the hitter whose performance seems to have the most profound affect on the team's overall results.
The big first baseman hit .413 with 11 extra-base hits including five homers and a .493 on-base percentage in his first 17 games. The Braves were 12-5 in those games.
Freeman has hit .226 (21-for-93) with two homers and a .288 OBP in his past 24 games, and the Braves are 10-14 in those. He was 0-for-2 with a strikeout and two walks Saturday, and he grounded into a double play to end the eighth inning of the 4-1 loss to the Cardinals.
His performance took a sharp downturn for several days when he had a recurrence of a dry-eye condition that plagued him a couple of years ago. The condition was brought on by dry, windy weather in New York during the April 19-20 weekend, and carried over to an 0-for-12, six-strikeout series against the Marlins April 21-23.
He hasn’t been quite the same since, though Freeman said his eyes are fine. It’s particularly noticeable when he struggles for any length, because Freeman, unlike Justin Upton and several other Braves, isn’t normally a streaky hitter. He’s been the Braves’ best and steadiest hitter for the past two seasons.
Freeman said he got the eye condition under control with the use of steroid drops to heal his scratched eyes, and that his vision hasn’t been a problem since April. But his performance both offensively and, to a lesser degree, defensively, hasn’t been up to his usual high standards for several weeks.
He said he’s just been in a stretch where he’s not getting hits to fall. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Freeman set the bar so high during his torrid start that his performance since has been merely a matter of “leveling off.”
“Other than that (period in April) he hasn’t even mentioned his eyes,” Gonzalez said. “He’s been fine, knock on wood.”
